Our purpose with this study was to investigate whether there was any difference between high and low performing students from selected aspects such as choice of studies, achievement, self-image, motivation, confidence and career choices.

A training professional in today's schools requires knowledge of how young people think about their lives for us to help students develop both high-and low-performing students. Students have different conditions, but no matter good or bad conditions, each individual pupil must be allowed to develop.

The concepts used in the study are of study, self-image, motivation, achievement in the future and career choices. In the background, describes these concepts through literature study. The method we have used was semi-structured interviews. Which means a fixed structure, but with room for follow-up questions.

The results of our study indicate that there were clear differences between high-and low-performing students. The differences suggest that the high-performing students were more conscious about their study options than low-performing students. Differences were also in the students' views of themselves,where the high-performance had a lower self- image than the low-performing students had. High performance compared each other more often with other people and was more unsure of themselves, however, the motivation was significantly higher among the high-performance students, performance showed the same results. The high-performing students had a clearer vision of the future and that they had a clearer picture of their career choice than the low-performing students.

Discussion on how we as educators can strengthen each student based on their individual needs have been based on results of the study.

Det här arbetet var ett försök att konkretisera vad gymnasielärare anser vara fungerande relationer och på vilket sätt de upplever att de skapar dessa. Undersökningen är en kvalitativ intervjustudie med fyra gymnasielärare. I resultatet framkommer lärarnas syn på kännetecken för en fungerande relation samt hur de uppfattar att de skapar fungerande relationer.

To be able to handle tomorrows need for limited energy consumption we need to reduce our use of energy. The building sector stands for around 40 % of all energy consumption in the society. The government has put up a goal to reduce the energy consumption in our buildings with 20 % by year 2020 and 50 % by year 2050 compared with year 1995. To be able to do reach that goal we need a more energy efficient building stock.

The main part of the energy used in our buildings is used for space heating. By installing ventilation systems with heat recovery on the exhaust air it is possible to use the heat-energy in the exhaust air to warm up the incoming air. This can contribute to a reduction in energy use.

A ventilation system with heat recovery on the exhaust air is space demanding and there can be problems with finding enough space to do the installation indoors. Therefore it can be an advantage to place the aggregate and the ducts on the outside of the buildings climate shell. A placement exterior of the buildings climate shell or in an unheated space leads to thermal heat losses.

The aim with this essay is to investigate how significant the heat losses are on exterior placed ventilation systems. The investigation has been done with help of theoretical calculations and measurements of the temperature difference in the ventilation ducts. Analysis has been made on life cycle costs on how to reduce the heat losses in an economic manner. To buildings, Höstvägen 14 and 22 in Växjö, which have been equipped with exterior placed ventilation systems have been studied. The two buildings have two different types of installation of the ducts.

Our result shows that the heat losses through the ventilation systems on Höstvägen 14 and 22 are significant. The majority of the losses occur in the ducts. In the aggregate the thermal bridges in the framework accounts for the larger part.

The study developed a model for production performance management of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Sweden. The developed model works for assessing, follow up and improvement in production performance. SMEs differ in size, structure, culture, competition, management practices, resource availability and lot more when compared with large organizations. SMEs also lack in effective performance management framework as most of the framework developed are designed for large organizations.

Production is core and critical value adding process especially for SMEs manufacturer for their survival and growth. SMEs are more motivated with doing rather than measuring it. Taking all these consideration a comprehensive model is developed which consists of four major steps. The model starts with studying of company’s strategy, and then there are steps for design of production performance measurement which works for identifying details strategically aligned performance measures. Benchmarking step is included to compare performance with best practices, finally measurements results are analysed and improvement actions are taken to continuously improve the production performance.

Developed model based on literature study, multiple case study (three case studies) are being conducted to check model applicability. The result of case studies supports the applicability and formulated problem is also well-answered by developed model.

The deactivation of a nickel reforming catalyst during the upgrading of the producer gas obtained by gasification of lignocellulosic biomass was studied. The research involved several steps: the selective deactivation of the catalyst in a laboratory scale; the streaming of the catalyst with the producer gas of a downdraft and an oxygen/steam circulating fluidized bed (CFB) gasifier; and tests in a reformer placed in a slipstream of the CFB gasifier. The information obtained allowed to elucidate the catalyst deactivation mechanisms taking place during the reforming of the producer gas: physical deactivation by deposition of fine ashes, aerosol particulate or carbon; poisoning by H2S and HCl present in the gas phase and thermal sintering because of the high operation temperatures required to avoid the chemical deactivation. These physical and chemical effects depended on the composition of the biomass fuel.

Ett miljötänkande har uppkommit under de senaste decennierna, detta har gjort att byar med mål att vara helt ekologiska har arbetats fram, ekobyar. Efter teori- och empiristudier i ämnena ekologiskt byggande, och ekobyar har en specifik ekoby, föreslagits. Studierna har skett i en begränsad del av ekologiskt byggande, de delar som tas upp i examensarbetet Hållbar utveckling– ekologisk bebyggelse är, Kretslopp, Byggnadsmaterial, Platsens förutsättningar, Gemenskap, Förnybar värme respektive Mat och odling.

The title compound, tricalcium oxynitride silicate, withcomposition Ca_3-xSi₂N_2-2xO_4+2x (x ’ 0.12), is a perovskiterelatedcalcium oxynitrido silicate containing isolated oxynitridosilicate 12-rings. The N atoms are statistically disorderedwith O atoms (occupancy ratio N:O = 0.88:0.12) and occupythe bridging positions in the 12 ring oxynitrido silicate anion,while the remaining O atoms are located at the terminalpositions of the Si(O,N)₄ tetrahedra. The majority of the Ca²⁺cations fill the channels along [100] in the packing of the 12-ring anions. The rest of these cations are located at severalpositions, with partial occupancy, in channels along the bodydiagonals.

A series of alkaline-earth element containing high nitrogen content oxynitride glasses (AESiON), with AE = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, were prepared in order to investigate the compositional effects on the physical properties of the alkaline-earth element. The physical properties were found to change linearly with the concentration of AE elements. The density of the glasses increases substantially with an increase in the AE atomic mass and slightly with an increase in nitrogen ratio. Ba containing glasses shows the value of density 4.16 g/cm³. Glass transition temperatures are found to be higher for Mg glasses, ca. 1020 °C, in comparison with Ba glasses, ca. 895 °C. The hardness of Mg containing glasses shows high values, up to 12.2 GPa and decreases for Ca, Sr and Ba containing glasses. Ba, containing glasses shows high values of refractive index in comparison with the Sr, Ca and Mg containing glasses.

The preparation and properties of Ba–Si–O–N glasses arereported. These oxynitride glasses were prepared by meltingmixtures of BaH₂, SiO₂, and Si₃N₄ powders in a nitrogenatmosphere at 1550°–1700°C. The glasses were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. Final glass compositions were calculated from analyses obtained by energy dispersive X-ray(EDX) spectroscopy and combustion analysis, for cation and anion compositions, respectively. The glasses were found to behomogenous, translucent gray to opaque black, and consists of N contents of up to 42 equiv% and Ba contents of up to 36 equiv%. Determined glass densities varied between 3.27 and 4.18 g/cm³, and calculated molar volumes varied between1 0.28 and 11.11 cm³/mol. Both density and molar volume increase with Ba content. Glass compactness (0.45–0.49), glasstransition temperature (786°–905°C), and microhardness (7.93–9.56 GPa) were found to increase linearly with N content. There fractive index increased from 1.66 to 1.91 and was found tobe strongly correlated with the amounts of Ba and N.

AE-based silicon oxynitride glasses (AE = Ca, Sr, Ba) with high nitrogen content have been synthesized using AE hydrides as primary precursors. The oxidation behavior of AE-Si-O-N glasses in ordinary atmosphere at different temperature has been investigated. These glasses react with air oxygen when heated just above the glass transition temperatures. The oxidation starts with bubble formation on the surface and continued oxidation leads to formation of a white layer on the surface. The oxidation of AE-Si-O-N glasses involves concurrently ongoing inward diffusion of oxygen and outward diffusion of AE elements and nitrogen, resulting in compositional gradient. EDX analysis showed substantial enrichment in AE content at the surfaces of the oxidized layer.

Oxynitride glasses have been prepared by melting woody biofuel ash from a power plant in south Sweden with addition of calcium metal as an extra modifier in a nitrogen atmosphere at 1350–1500 °C. The glasses were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, differential thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Cation and anion glass compositions were determined by energy dispersive X-ray analysis and combustion analysis, respectively. The glasses were found to be homogenous, translucent gray to black, and to contain up to 23 e/o of calcium and 5 e/o of nitrogen. The glass formation depends on the ratio of calcium metal introduction to the ash precursors. A strong exothermic reaction was observed at 650–850 °C, leading to the formation of amorphous and crystalline oxynitride phases that melt at high temperatures upon further heating. The glass densities vary between 2.76 g/cm³ and 2.92 g/cm³. The glass transition temperature was found to vary from 670 °C to 749 °C and increase linearly with the nitrogen content.

I början av varje nytt projekt stöter man på de olika alternativ av stomme- och bjälklagskonstruktioner som finns att välja mellan, och frågan blir ofta vilken alternativ som är optimal för den aktuella projekteten.

Den optimala lösningen för varje projekt existerar inte, på grund av de olika faktorer och förutsättningar som styr projektet, till exempel: ekonomi, typ av byggnad, terrängtyp etc.

Frågeställningen i denna rapport är om limträ eller betong är den mest optimala alternativen som stommaterial i det aktuella projektet.

Jämförelsearbetet utgående från förutsättningar har gjorts genom att dimensionera delar av ett projekt med både materialen. Fokus har lagts på skillnader i byggnadshöjd, vindstabilitet och grundläggningen. Resultaten tyder på om man ska bygga ett kontorshus eller flervåningshus vore betong mer lämpligare alternativ jämfört med limträ.

Skillnaden i byggnadshöjd finns men är förvånansvärt inte så stor mellan de två olika stommaterial. Dock skillnaden varierar avsevärd när det gäller bjälklagshöjd mellan limträ och betong. Detta pga krav på nedböjning och svikt som ställs på limträbjälklag.

Båda stommaterial klara vindstabiliteten utan plintar, som är ganska intressant speciellt med tanke på limträets låga vikt.

När det gäller grundläggningen, blev skillnaden betydlig större mellan limträ och betong.

Dimensionering enligt Eurokoder har gjorts genom egna handberäkningar och även användandet av programvaran Strusoft.

Det här examensarbete handlar om att ta fram en ny maskin, en hanteringsmaskin, till TEXO Application i Älmhult. Syftet med maskinen är att den ska vika IKEAs kundpåsar, hanteringsmaskinen ska användas på samtliga IKEA varuhus världen över. Utvecklingen av hanteringsmaskinen går från enkla skisser av flera koncept till val av koncept och utveckling en denna till en fullständig ritning som det sedan byggs en prototyp utfrån. Effektiviseringen bland samtliga varuhus beräknas att öka då denna lösning ger de anställda mer tid till annat arbete.

To survive the hard international competition, it is necessary for many companies to enhance their competition positions through, for example; reducing production cost, and maintaining and improving production process and product quality for increasing the profit margin. In order to achieve these strategic goals, a tool for making investments in maintenance more profitable is developed, introduced, tested and discussed. This tool/module is one of the modules included by an innovatively new Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS). Theoretical backgrounds are introduced, and software prototype (AltSim) for making the application of any of the tool on the daily basis easier and more cost-effective are developed, discussed and their functionalities are tested in FIAT/CRF, Italy. It is designed to support maintenance and production engineers to achieve cost-effective maintenance decisions. The major result of this study is development and testing of innovatively new tool/software module for simulating and selecting the most cost-effective production and maintenance solution. The major conclusion that can be drawn is; applying AltSim it is possible to identify and select the most cost-effective solution when there are several technically application solutions for the same problem.

In order to maintain and improve company profitability especially during financial crises and lower profit-margin, it is necessary to reduce economic losses. This can be achieved through maintaining and improving the quality of the elements involved in the production process. Therefore, the maintenance strategy applied should be dynamic to suit the changes occur in a production process cost-effectively. Therefore, it is essential for maintenance and production managers to have a system providing the data required to achieve dynamic and cost-effective maintenance decisions. In this paper, a new Maintenance Decision Support System (eMDSS) for achieving dynamic and cost-effective maintenance decisions is introduced, tested and discussed. It consists of three toolsets and five software modules for performing six services to; enhance accuracy of maintenance decisions, select the most cost-effective maintenance solutions, identify and prioritise problem areas, and assess losses in production time, and map, follow up and assess maintenance cost-effectiveness (maintenance savings and profit) to achieve continuous & cost effective improvement. The major result of this tsudy is verfication of a new innovative Mainteance Decision Support System (eMDSS). The system has been tested at Fiat (car manufacturer)/CRF in Italy and GORATU (CNC-machine manufacturer).  The main conclusion is; applying eMDSS it is possible to map production and maintenance processes, identify and prioritise problems, select the most cost-effective maintenance investment and follow up and control investments results.

In general, all the elements involved in a production process, such as tools, machinery, methods, competence and working environment are exposed to dynamic changes. Thus, in order to maintain and improve company profitability and competitiveness especially during financial crises and lower profit-margin, it is necessary to reduce losses through maintaining and improving the quality of the elements involved in the production process. Therefore, the maintenance strategy applied should be dynamic to follow all these changes cost-effectively. The accuracy of maintenance decisions is essential for reducing economic losses generated due to unnecessary stoppages especially when stoppage time is very expensive. Therefore, it is necessary for maintenance and production managers to have a system providing the data required to achieve dynamic and cost-effective maintenance decisions. In this paper, the role of & importance of dynamic and cost effective maintenance in company business is discussed. Also, a scenario for applying a new eMaintenance Decision Support System (eMDSS) for achieving dynamic and cost-effective maintenance decisions is introduced, tested and discussed. eMDSS introduces four different strategies for continuously improving the cost-effectiveness of maintenance and production processes. It consists of three toolsets and five software modules for performing six services to;

1. enhance accuracy of maintenance decisions

2. select the most cost-effective maintenance solutions

3. identify and prioritise problem areas, and assess losses in production time

4. map, follow up and assess maintenance cost-effectiveness (maintenance savings and profit) for achieving continuous & cost effective improvement.

The major result of this tsudy is a new innovative eMDSS. The system has been tested at Fiat (car manufacturer)/CRF inItalyand GORATU (CNC-machine manufacturer).  The main conclusion is; applying eMDSS it is possible to map production an maintenance processes, identify and prioritise investments results.

Using CM, we have past data for describing damage initiation & development and current data for describing the current condition of a component/machine.  Data describing possible behaviour of the condition in the close future are usually lack in the available commercial systems although it is important for planning production/maintenance actions, reducing failures/accidents, & consequently reducing losses & production cost. In general, accurate maintenance decisions prolong life length of components/machines and maintain production continuity which adds competitive advantages. When CM parameter exceeds a significant (warning) level, it demands a clear understanding of what happened to avoid failures. Also, reliable answers concerning; what is the probability of failure of a component, its residual life and when is the most profitable time of conducting maintenance are necessary. In this paper, a new innovative eMDSS consists of three strategies for cost-effective maintenance & production processes is introduced and discussed. The major focus is given on one strategy (Accurate Maintenance Decisions). This strategy offers opportunity to achieve Just on Time Dynamic & Cost-effective Maintenance by selecting the most profitable time for maintenance is developed, tested in case companies and discussed. It offers unique solutions to increase maintenance profitability by enhancing maintenance decision accuracy via;

1. Predicting the value of CM parameter, e.g. vibration, level, PreVib.
2. Estimating the probability of failure at the close future and component residual life, ProLife.
3. Using this new information, it will easily estimate the most profitable time for maintenance action.

Accurate Maintenance Decisions provides data about future situation in addition to the current & past data, which is necessary for production and maintenance successful planning. This toolset; predicts the vibration level (PreVib), assesses the probability of failure of equipment and its residual life (ProLife), and consequently it becomes possible to determine the best time of maintenance action. It has been tested in several Swedish and European companies within the branches of car manufacturing, production machine manufacturer and process industry.  This study was partly funded by EU-IP DYNAMITE (Dynamic Decisions in Maintenance ) 2005-2009 and partly by E-maintenance Sweden AB. The major conclusions are; applying this toolset it is possible to reduce failures appreciably, prolongs the life length of components/equipment, and perform profitable maintenance.

Using CM, we have past data for describing damage initiation & development and current data for describing the current condition of a component/machine.  Data describing possible behaviour of the condition in the close future are usually lack in the available commercial systems although it is important for planning production/maintenance actions, reducing failures/accidents, & consequently reducing losses & production cost. In general, accurate maintenance decisions prolong life length of components/machines and maintain production continuity which adds competitive advantages. When CM parameter exceeds a significant (warning) level, it demands a clear understanding of what happened to avoid failures. Also, reliable answers concerning; what is the probability of failure of a component, its residual life and when is the most profitable time of conducting maintenance are necessary. In this paper, a new innovative eMDSS consists of three strategies for cost-effective maintenance & production processes is introduced and discussed. The major focus is given on one strategy (Accurate Maintenance Decisions). This strategy offers opportunity to achieve Just on Time Dynamic & Cost-effective Maintenance by selecting the most profitable time for maintenance is developed, tested in case companies and discussed. It offers unique solutions to increase maintenance profitability by enhancing maintenance decision accuracy via;

1. Predicting the value of CM parameter, e.g. vibration, level, PreVib.
2. Estimating the probability of failure at the close future and component residual life, ProLife.
3. Using this new information, it will easily estimate the most profitable time for maintenance action.

Accurate Maintenance Decisions provides data about future situation in addition to the current & past data, which is necessary for production and maintenance successful planning. This toolset; predicts the vibration level (PreVib), assesses the probability of failure of equipment and its residual life (ProLife), and consequently it becomes possible to determine the best time of maintenance action. It has been tested in several Swedish and European companies within the branches of car manufacturing, production machine manufacturer and process industry.  This study was partly funded by EU-IP DYNAMITE (Dynamic Decisions in Maintenance ) 2005-2009 and partly by E-maintenance Sweden AB. The major conclusions are; applying this toolset it is possible to reduce failures appreciably, prolongs the life length of components/equipment, and perform profitable maintenance.

World-wide industrial experience shows that vibration is a powerful tool in detecting damage in mechanical systems which made it very widely used in rotating and reciprocating machines. Properly used vibration monitoring systems provide information illustrating what is on-going in the machine, i.e. if there is deterioration. Current and past data can also be used to identify what type of deterioration processes are active. But, sometimes the vibration signal analysis should be completed by additional CM parameter(s), such as SPM, oil analysis and temperature, to get more reliable detection of problems and prediction of future condition of production equipment.

Making accurate and cost-effective maintenance decisions, i.e. to determine more accurately when and why to stop production equipment and where to conduct maintenance actions  depends on:

1. availability of equipment history,
2. possibility to assess current condition,
3. accuracy of the CM system being used and
4. the knowledge and experience in monitoring the condition of mechanical systems that is available.

But, the data set which describes the condition of the equipment in the close future is usually missed. Therefore to avoid failures and conduct maintenance actions during planned stoppages, it is crucial to assess what the condition of production equipment will be at the next planned stoppage (close future), i.e. when the decisions of stopping production equipment for maintenance should be realised.

The capital invested in production equipment is usually intended to produce a predetermined amount of production in a well-defined production time at a particular quality and production cost. But due to failures, reduced production speed and other unnecessary stoppages, the production process loses some of the time planned for production due to the downtime and failure related poor quality. Higher level of vibration, noise, heat generation and temperature can associate the deterioration phase preceding failures and result in higher energy consumption. The additional energy, i.e. waste in energy, is consumed due to, e.g. failures, reduced production speed, produced bad quality items and machine idle time. Thus, eliminating the root-causes behind these disturbances, the bleeding of waste in energy consumption can be reduced or terminated. Moreover, the pollution released to the environment is, in general, influenced by many factors, among others, energy production/consumption. Therefore,  reduced waste in energy consumption will reduce the amount of pollution released to the environment. It is notable that the reduction in downtime of production equipment and waste in energy consumption can both be assessed on the economic basis but of two dimensional effect; economic and environmental. Therefore, in order to decide whether the time is most profitable, technical and economic analysis is important for highlighting the economic losses due to failures, downtimes and unnecessary consumption of energy and consequently less pollution to the environment. It is also important to develop a model for determining when to plan maintenance actions to continuously increase company profitability. The economic impact of unnecessary downtime and consumption in energy can then be used to distinguish between failure modes, rank them and select the most profitable maintenance time. But, applying any model or system for conducting  profitable maintenance cannot be secured without reliable and easily used key performance indicators (KPIs) that can be used for mapping, analysis, evaluation and judgement of maintenance and production processes. A KPI is a measurable variable that can be used for mapping, analysis or evaluating a process technically, e.g. with respect to failures, downtime, short stoppages, or economically, with respect to production cost, economic losses, maintenance savings. It reflects either only technical measure, such as the number of failures, or economic measure, such as the economic losses due to inefficient maintenance, or a combined measure, such as maintenance savings per high quality item.

The detailed analysis of CM signals is essential for detecting problems at an early stage, identifying root-causes, predicting damage severity and, planning and selecting the most profitable maintenance time and actions. The criteria influencing the arrangements and selection of CM systems and maintenance management policy will be controlled by important features;

1. diagnosis accuracy,

2. cost-effectiveness of maintenance decisions,

3. applicability of the system in SMEs from technical, administrative and economic perspectives.

4. Level of knowledge and experience in CM technology that is required for adequate implementation.

From everyday experience, more accurate and high quality maintenance and operational data that are necessary for describing the strengths and weaknesses of production equipment are also important for  modifying the design of production equipment.  Also, maintenance role in modifying equipment design through providing the underlying information and evidences that are required to highlight weaknesses and justify modifications technically and economically.

One of the biggest problems facing the implementation of CBM and especially predictive maintenance is that reliable predictive maintenance demands according to the current way a big number of sensors and may be of different types, e.g. for measuring vibration, SPM, acoustic emission, etc. At continuous monitoring of the health of production equipment, the problem becomes bigger due to the high investing capital that is demanded in many cases.

This chapter discusses the role of maintenance in relation to company profit. It discusses how the internal effectiveness, and creation and improvement of company competitiveness may be improved with better maintenance practices. In order to achieve better competitiveness, a conceptual model for integrating the operative and strategic level of operation is developed that is able to identify, quantify and eliminate losses in company profit.

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop the steps required for establishing and running cost-effective condition-based maintenance (CBM) exemplified for vibration-based maintenance (VBM) and compared with real implementations in case companies.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study is based on published knowledge and experience within condition monitoring (CM) and CBM, and three case studies.

Findings

– The study has shown that all three case companies are in a big need for systematic procedures for doing right things right, in the right time cost-effectively (establishing and running a cost-effective CBM).

Research limitations/implications

– The paper focuses on development of cost-effective CBM exemplified for VBM. Also, the case companies belong to three branches: paper and pulp mills, energy producer and engineering manufacturing. The case companies have different levels in applying CBM/VBM, experience and knowledge in CM and CBM.

Practical implications

– Systematic procedures for establishing CBM/VBM policy are developed, motivated and discussed in a way which enables the user to establish and run CBM/VBM policy cost-effectively.

Originality/value

– The steps of establishment of CBM/VBM provide a unique model for companies to establish and run cost-effective maintenance its originality.

To survive hard international competition, it is necessary for many producing companies to enhance their competition positions by, for example, reducing production costs and maintaining and improving product quality to increase the profit margin. In order to achieve these strategic goals, strategies for making maintenance more profitable are developed, introduced and discussed in this chapter. These strategies are all developed as software modules included by an innovatively new maintenance decision support system (MDSS). Also, theoretical backgrounds are introduced, and software prototypes for making the application of any of the tools on a daily basis easier and more cost-effective are developed and discussed, and their functionalities are tested. MDSS consists of three toolsets, where each toolset consists of one to three tools that can be used for different objectives and applications. It is designed to support maintenance and production engineers to achieve dynamic and cost-effective maintenance decisions. The latter will be discussed in Chapter 13. MDSS software prototype can be utilised for several objectives, such as, to:

• enhance the accuracy of maintenance decisions;

• simulate and select the most cost-effective maintenance solution, i.e., the best investment in maintenance;

• identify and prioritise problem areas; and

• map, monitor, analysis, follow up and assess maintenance contribution in company profit.

When using vibration-based maintenance, it is easier to detect damage in rolling element bearings. But the damage severity and risk of bearing's failure, if no maintenance action such as replacement is done, can not be assessed accurately. When the vibration level of a rolling element bearing is increasing or it is close to (or greater than) a predetermined replacement level, the assessment of the probability of a bearing’s failure enhances the decision making process. Thus, at each vibration measurement occasion a decision has to be made regarding whether the bearing needs to be maintained and how urgent it actually is.

The paper describes a graphical method for both assessing the probability of failure of damaged rolling element bearing and predicting the residual of its effective life. It uses history of the bearing in question and life statistics as well as the vibration levels at failure/condition-based replacements of past bearings of the same design or of very similar performance and duties. This method is based on the concept of Total Time on Test, TTT-plot. The application of TTT-plot on age and condition-based maintenance techniques are discussed and described by two examples. This graphical method is developed from previous work by the author and others. 

A production process includes several sub-processes (working areas) that are responsible for performing the different tasks required to accomplish the mission of the process. Thus, it is important to avoid a shortage of resources, unplanned stoppages and idle times that may arise. The problem addressed in this paper is: How should maintenance be considered in conjunction with plant activities, such as production, quality and personnel competence for easily and effectively identifying and quantifying company losses in profitability and eliminating underlying causes? In this paper, the interactions between major working areas have been introduced and discussed. The major result achieved in this study is the development of a new model (Maintenance Function Deployment (MFD), for an easy and effective identification and quantification of company losses in profitability. Four matrixes have been used for developing MFD model for effectively integrating maintenance with production, competence and quality. An application example is conducted to demonstrate the possibility of applying the model and its potential for enhancing production processes profitably. The main conclusion is: applying MFD gives an enormous opportunity to continuously maintain the quality of the working areas under consideration, which makes MFD one of the company’s objective-driven tools for enhancing its profitability and competitiveness.

It is usual when using CM technology for assessing the state of a component and planning maintenance actions using predetermined levels for warnings and replacements. The replacement of a damaged component is usually done at lower or higher than the predetermined level, which both means losses. This is because the probability of doing replacements just at the predetermined level is negligibly small. The accuracy in the assessment of the condition of a component has big technical and economic impact on the output of the machine, production process and consequently company profitability and competitiveness. The higher the accuracy in assessing the condition of a component yields higher probability of avoiding failures and planning maintenance actions at low costs. In this paper, techniques for assessing the state of a component using both mechanistic and other statistical approaches are considered. This paper also applies Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) Chart for identifying the time of damage initiation and reducing false alarms.  Techniques for assessing the probability of failure of a component and its residual life, and predicting the vibration level at the next planned measuring opportunity or planned stoppage are introduced, discussed, computerised and tested. The problem addressed is: How is it possible to increase the accuracy of assessing the condition of a component? The major result achieved is; development of a model for more accurate assessment of the condition of a component/equipment through combining different approaches. The main conclusion that can be drawn is; applying the model, it is possible to enhance the accuracy of assessment of the condition of a component/equipment and consequently maintenance decision since the integrated model provides comprehensive and relevant information in one platform.

In general, all the elements involved in a production process, such as tools, machinery, methods, competence and working environment are exposed to changes. Thus, to maintain and improve company profitability and competitiveness, it is necessary to reduce losses through maintaining and improving the quality of the elements involved in the production process. Therefore, the maintenance strategy applied should be dynamic to be suited for all these changes cost-effectively. In producing companies, the accuracy of maintenance decisions is essential for reducing economic losses generated due to unnecessary stoppages in companies of intensive capital investment where stoppage time is expensive, especially in paper and pulp mills, refineries, power stations and engineering manufacturing. Therefore, it is necessary for maintenance and production managers to have a system providing the data required to achieve dynamic and cost-effective maintenance decisions.

In this chapter, the new maintenance decision support system (MDSS) for achieving dynamic and cost-effective maintenance decisions developed in Chapter 12 is tested and discussed. The developed system is MIMOSA compatible, consists of three toolsets and five software modules for performing six services to achieve different objectives, e.g.:

1. higher accuracy of maintenance decisions;

2. selection of the most cost-effective maintenance solutions;

3. identification and prioritisation of problem areas and assessment of losses in production time; and

4. mapping, follow up and assessment of maintenance cost-effectiveness (maintenance savings and profit) to achieve continuous and cost effective improvement.

Enhancement of company competitiveness and profitability demands continuous, high quality and trouble free production. Technical specifications and the condition of a wind turbine depend on the quality and condition of its significant components, which usually have the biggest impact on production continuity, - cost per KW and the environment. These necessitate intelligent technologies for maintaining the quality of significant components. Thus, it would be mandatory to select the most informative condition monitoring (CM) system and most cost-effective maintenance policy. In this paper, wind turbine problems are specified and described, available maintenance and CM techniques are discussed, and a maintenance solution with clearly specified objectives are suggested, discussed and the potential results are outlined in the end.